The Power of Yellow
by babyc2407
Summary: I’m in a whole other universe... Sky takes a glance over at me and notices it too. I’m frozen on the cozy red couch in the lounge. The book still in my hands. My eyes starring, blankly. This feeling...
1. Chapter 1

A Fan Fictional Story: Based on a true dream

I'm the SPD yellow ranger. My name is Elizabeth Delgado, but you can call me Z. I'm part of the Space Patrol Delta B squad along with my long time friend Jack, who now is SPD's red ranger. We joined the other B squad team (Sky-blue ranger, Bridge-green ranger, and Syd-pink ranger) not to long ago. Together we fight to protect the Earth against Grumm, a space nasty. Although Jack is our leader, we have the aid and assistance of Commander Doggie Cruger and Kat, his assistance.

We just finished defeating Sinuku, a monster we defeated earlier but had recently escaped one of SPD's prisons by switching bodies with one of the guards. Sky had been his target the first time, so he was more aware of his tactics. The monster didn't have a chance.

Commander Cruger thought it wise that we skip a late night assimilation session and relax. I retreated into the lounge room along with Jack and Sky. Syd had plans tonight. She was going to attend a fashion show with her fashion mogul mother. She left the command room as soon at Cruger dismissed us to go to our room and get ready. Bridge volunteered to be her fashion critic and help her pick out something. At first it was insulting that she didn't ask me, but then what would I know about what to wear at a fashion show.

I was sitting in the holographic green lounge room catching up on the rules and regulations of SPD, when Syd came in announcing her presents.

"Well what do you think?"

I looked up over the edge of my book to look. Syd looked stylish in her pink sparkling dress. Jack and Sky eyes were eyeballing her with flirty smiles.

"Oh, please," I muttered in my book.

"Wait! You'll love this. Bridge!" she called.

Bridge came in dressed in red fur boas and a black multi-beaded dress. Jack, who was sitting down, got up and started circling Bridge.

"Have you ever considered modeling, because you are just so cute?"

Everyone starting laughing. Bridge began to turn bright red.

" What size shoes do you wear, Bridge?" Jack continued. "We can find some nice pumps to go with your lovely ensemble."

The laughing continued. Even Sky, who's serious about everything, is laughing at Bridge's getup. I, on the other hand, feel like I'm in a whole other universe. I'm in the same room but feel like I'm on another planet. Sky takes a glance over at me and notices it too. I'm frozen on the cozy red couch in the lounge. The book still in my hands. My eyes starring, blankly. This feeling is draining me somehow, making me paranoid.

Sky comes over and touches me on the shoulder. Suddenly, I'm back in the room. The feeling is gone and I'm aware of what is going on in the room.

"Are you alright?" Sky ask. "You don't seem your active self."

That draws everyone's attention towards me. I shake off his concern.

"I'm fine," I casually answer. "I just need some fresh air."

I put my book down and leave to go outside.

It's relaxing outside. A nice cool airy breeze brushes back my hair. The night's full moon giving the clouds a bluish glow in the sky. I sat down on the fountain outside the building. Something was still wrong. I got up and looked around. It was quiet. Nothing but shadows. Wait. My eyes caught something move. A flickering shadow.

It wasn't the average monster that appeared. It's beam was so intense, I couldn't make out its form. It spoke in a deep, throaty voice telling me that it had come for me and only me.

"Why- Who are you?" I asked shaky, trying to sound unafraid.

I sort of remembered—seeing him in a previous battle before– Dead. Was he suppose to be dead? No, locked up somewhere.

"It doesn't matter how I've returned Z," he tells me.

He can read my thoughts! He's broke out to seek vengeance on me and I walked right out here to make it easier on him.

"Just as well. Your friends would have been in the way…"

"Shut-up. Stop talking to me." I cover my ears wanting to block out his words.

"It wouldn't have bothered me to kill a couple more," he spoke inside my mind.

His voice just as cruel and menacing as if he spoke aloud.

"Men. Women. Children. Do you know how many I've had to kill to get to you? Feed off their energy to survive. Because of you."

His voice was starting to throb as it boomed deeply in my head. "No, you are the monster!" I screamed.

"Something wrong, Elizabeth? Seeing yellow?"

His yellow beam grew bigger and brighter. I dashed back inside. I'm shaking. My nerves are shot. I'm shivering as if I woke up from a bad nightmare. All the lights are off at the lower level entrance except upstairs which is dimly lit by fluorescent lighting. I can see Sky patrolling the hallway. I run up the stairs, screaming about the monster outside that escaped. Sky stops and turns back around. I feel so weak and shaky I collapse when I reach the second floor. Sky catches me before I hit the floor.

"Sky, he's outside. He's waiting for me. I don't know why," I weakly explain.

"Tic-Toc, Z. Trying to delay the envitable?" I bury my head against his chest.

"My head- He's in my head," I cried.

"I'm going to call for help." He pulled out his communicator, but I stop him before he calls.

"No, you can't. I have to fight him-It's my fight-I have to take him alone."

He looks at me like I'm delirious. Jack comes walking down the hallway towards us. He's either woken up because of the commotion I started in the hallway or he probably was protrolling the hallways as well.

"Z, what are you doing out on the hallways?" I pull him aside into a nearby room where I can talk to him alone. Just as I close the door, Syd and Bridge come running down the hall. Jack rests a hand on my shoulder.

"What's up with you, Z?"

"We've been friends for a long time, Jake," I started. He nods his head in agreement.

I take a deep breath.

"And you know me better than anyone…"

"What's the point you're trying to make?"

I look him in the eyes at the moment and ask," Let me do this on my own."

His morpher goes off. He snatches it from his belt.

"Go ahead, Kat."

"We have an alien beam outside of the base. I'm picking up massive energy. Cruger wants you on it immediately."

"Right away," he responses. He looks at me like he isn't sure that he can agree with what I asked him to do. Just as he is about to consider it, the door is jerked open by Sky, who has been listening in on our conversation. Syd and Bridge are not too far off.

"Cruger wants us to handle it as a team." He gallantly argues.

"This isn't your fight. It's mine," I counter.

"She's in no condition to take on this alien by herself."

"I have to be the one he fights or else he'll continue to hurt other until I do."

"If you go out there now, he'll kill you and continue to harm others. It isn't in a criminal's code to keep his word." Sky was arguing with Jack to not let me go out there (as if I wasn't standing there), but it was out of his hands because Jack knew me. I was going to do it whether he ordered me to go or not.

"Alright, Z. You got five minutes."

Sky looked deep at me with those serious blue eyes of his and I saw that he was concerned and worried about me. He was scared for me. I looked away and ran back outside to face the beaming monster.

"How sentimental. A touching moment. Ended so soon." The monster taunted.

"You won't be around to soon either.- SPD, Emergency!"

I was about to morph in my ranger suit when he hit me with this powerful heat-invisible wave that sent me flying backwards slamming me into an orange car, badly denting it with my own body. I painfully picked myself up to my feet as he approached me. I blocked his attack with my arms crossed. Kicked, ducked his attack, went for a hit, and kicked. I'm about to hit him again when he gives me a powerful blow to the stomach that sends me flying again, smashing into a nearby dumpster that knocks over on impact. I can't move. I can't pick myself up again. I can't hear him anymore because my head is spinning so fast. I regret not asking for my team's help. Then Commander Cougar looms over me.

"Hold on, Miss Delgado." He had morphed into Shadow ranger.

"I couldn't do it," I say, softly. I doubt he heard them.

"You can rest now."

He scoops me up in his arms and picks me up out of the sprawled trash. I can see the red ranger beating the bright light out of this monster. Blue ranger shoots him with his blaster. The monster's beam fires one explosive blast sending everyone to the ground. He doesn't give the rangers enough time to get up before firing another one. Sam or SPD Omega ranger comes to the rescue on his unicycle. Red ranger calls for the battlizer. Sonic mode. Full power. Omega ranger goes in for a hard punch and jumps from behind to finish him. The beam burst followed by an intense aftershock. Cruger dropped to his knees and bends over me to shield me from it. I wouldn't feel a thing because I was already unconscious.

The strange thing that happened could only be described as an out of body experience. Really. I was standing there looking at my limply body in Commander Cruger's arms. "No!" I screamed.

"This did not happen to me. It couldn't be real."

Everyone demorphed and came rushing over to Commander Cruger. I knew it had to be real when Bridge passed through me.

"Z!" Jack called.

"Kat, sent for the ambulance immediately," Cruger ordered with urgency.

"Right away, sir," came her response from the communicator.

Everyone was looking somberly at my body. Tears were falling down Syd's face. She turned away.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Jack took her in his arms and comfort her in his hold.

The ambulance approached. Two men in black uniforms rush out with a stretcher. This must be SPD's own because they have SPD embroidered on their uniform and a silver SPD badge on the jacket of their uniform. Command Cruger places me on the stretcher as they place an oxygen mask over my face. It has a strange effect on me. The ghost me could actually feel it.

Maybe, I can still be revived.

I looked over at Sky. I could see he was trying so hard not to cry. He looked as if he was guilty for all this. He let me go and this is what happens. I reached out to touch his face when suddenly the earth started to tremble so hard that I could feel it. Where the monster was defeated the ground crumbled into a large hole.

"The fights not over. You two get her out of here. The rest of you take care of the disturbance." Everyone nodded in agreement and ran off to see what was going on. Commander Cruger stopped Sky just as he was about to leave.

"Except you, Sky. I want you with the ambulance."

"Yes, sir."

Cruger ran off to join the others, morphing to Shadow ranger.

"Let's go!" One of the men cried. Sky ran beside the stretcher as I was rushed inside the ambulance. I watched as the two men closed the doors behind them and the ambulance speeded off. We had to be reunited or else I wouldn't be able to wake up and I felt that I didn't have must time left. The alien beam had grown into an oversized sun. No time to watch a zord fight. I started to run after the ambulance.

"Wait!" I called after it. That wasn't going to work. The ambulance was to far away by now and THEY COULDN'T HAVE HEARD ME ANYWAY-NO ONE COULD. I had to get off the ground. Could I at least fly? I concentrated on being off the ground. I need to be off the ground. I opened my eyes. I was hovering off the ground in the middle of the road. A cruiser was coming down the road fast. I know it was going to pass through me and everything, but old habit dies hard. I flowed up out of the way, barely missing it.

"I've got to get control of this now," I tell myself.

I calmed down and focused on where I needed to go.

Suddenly I was up in the air, tumbling out of the way of buildings. I was going so fast, I couldn't control where I was going. Something was doing that for me, as long as I kept my focus on where I needed to be.

Which room did they put in me? I wouldn't have time to search all the rooms. I zoomed through the front entrance.

"Stop!"

Whatever had control of me abruptly left leaving me to stop myself. I tumbled halfway through the front desk.

I got up. I take one good look at the nurse and have this feeling she's not going to let me see my other half. The woman looks worn out already. She's talking to this woman that is asking her how to give her son a pill.

"Lady, I don't have much time. I've got to see a patient that just got here. It's urgent that I see her," I explain hurriedly.

The woman holds up her finger.

"I'll be with you in a minute."

I look around to see if she's talking to anyone else. There were others in the waiting room, but no one near the front desk.

"You- You can see me?"

She puts her finger to her lips to shush me. I don't have time to question how she can see me. I start to grow cold and my feet began to slowly disappear. I reach for the phone.

"Let me talk to her. I might can help you."

She looks at me like I'm kidding.

"No joke. Give me the phone," I press, urgently.

She hands me the phone. "If you can get her off the phone, I'll talk to you. But only if you can."

I'm running out of time. My legs are dissolving into nothing. I can feel it. The lady on the phone is explaining her situation in long, vivid details about doing everything to get her son to take a pill. Once she quiets, I yell at her to slip it in his food. All of this complaining was over getting a kid to take a pill. I would have given back the phone except I had no hands.

I was disappearing rapidly. I'd failed two times. The only image my mind could think of was Sky's guilt-ridden fac.

"I'm sorry too, Sky," I cried as I vanished.

I blacked out.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

What's that noise?

_Drip, Drip, Drip._

I slowly jawed open my eyes. The light stung my eyes close. I open them again and they adjusted to the light in the room. I was lying in a hospital bed in a naturally sunlit room, covered in blue sheets. The noise I heard was the IV bag. I'm alive. I caught something in the corner of my eyes and look over to my right. Sky is sitting in a chair next to the bed. It looks like he hasn't gotten any sleep. He's reading a book, probably something SPD related. He looks over at me and notices that I'm awake.

"You're up." I smile. "So you notice," I say, my voice croaky. He puts his book on my bed stand.

"I can't hear him anymore."

"He's one monster we didn't confine."

"Awe, you did that for me." He smiled too and lowered his head to hide it.

"See, I got you to smile." He got up and brushed off his pants.

"Well, I better tell the others that you're awake." He started to leave.

"Wait." He stopped by the door and turns.

"You were with me the whole time, weren't you?"

"Commander Cruger's orders," he said, his back turned. He was about to leave again when I multiplied myself in front of him.

"I've been through a lot within the last– I don't know how many days. The least you can do is tell me the truth." He turned around, walked to the bed, and bent down beside the bed so I wouldn't strain my neck looking up at him. He did something that surprise me. He took my hand in his and stroked the back of it with his thumb.

"My dad gave his life protecting other. He was a great ranger and an even better friend. If his team could have done anything to prevent what happened, they would have. I didn't want what happen to him to happen to you. Not if I could help it.- You're not only my partner, you are my friend." I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

Commander Cruger came in and cleared his throat to announce his presence. Sky swiftly turned around and saluted.

"At ease, cadet." Kat came in behind him with a vase of flowers.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked.

"Alive," I breathed.

She came over to the bed and kissed my forehead.

"I'm glad to see that you are." She said, placing the flowers on the bed stand.

"Thank you."

"I was just about to- um– tell the others when you came in," said Sky.

Kat looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

"I'm sure you were," said Cruger. He saluted.

"Thanks again, Sky," I said softly. He turned to acknowledge my gratitude and left. Commander Cruger sat at the side of my bed.

"Miss Delgado, may I ask why you wanted to fight that L5 alien alone?"

"Commander, don't-"," Kat interjected. It was okay.

"Sir, he was only after me. I thought if I gave him what he wanted, he wouldn't harm others. – I know it sounds stupid, but I could read his motives somehow and I knew that he wasn't bluffing about why he was there."

"Do you know why he may have been after you?" Kat questioned. I shook my head. "Not me in particular."

"Well, I'm glad that you are here with us again." He said, patting my head. I heard Ric, the mechanical dog, barking outside my room.

"Do you mind a few more guests?" Jack, Bridge, and Syd were standing in the doorway. I smiled. I painfully sat up in the bed and waved for them to come in. Jack crossed the room and gave me a careful hug followed next by Syd and Bridge.

"Here," said Syd, handing me a fluffy velour teddy bear.

"Someone to keep you company."

"Thanks."

"I checked the room," said Bridge. Everyone looked puzzling in his direction.

"No evil presences to disturb you. The nurse is a whole other vibe that I'm still investigating." Syd rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes I think you are a different species altogether."

"Alright, let clear out so Miss Delgado can get her rest."

"If I was a different species what would I be?" Bridge continued.

"How should I know? I'm guessing a bug." Syd replied.

Jack waved goodbye.

I was alone. The room was quiet again. My cheeks were wet. I touched them with my fingertips. I didn't realize I had started crying. "Alive, more like useless."

Useless…

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

"I am so glad to be getting out of here. I never thought that I would say this, but I miss the base's food and my roomie," I complained, as I sat on the hospital bed that I had occupied for almost a month. "

"Yeah, your side of the room is so empty, it creeps me out sometimes," said Syd, sitting in the chair next to my bed.

"Then again, I'll miss having the room to myself," she added.

I threw Cubby at her. I had named the bear she gave me to keep me company during my recovery at the hospital. She caught it in her lap and threw it back at me. Jack came in and sat on my bed beside me.

"You're all set to go?" I patted my duffel bag behind me.

"Ready was so two hours ago." Sky came in pushing an empty wheelchair. My eager face quickly sulkened when I saw the chair.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Hospital policy, Z." Jack informed. I limped over to the chair with the help of Syd and Jake as Sky held the chair firmly in place. Jake grabbed my duffel bag off the bed, while Syd and Bridge carried vases with flowers and get well balloons that I had gotten during my stay. Majority of them came from S.P.D cadets. On the way out, I remembered something I wanted to do for a long time and asked to take a detour to the front desk. Sky offered to take me, but I wanted to talk to her in private. I pushed the wheelchair to the front desk while the others waited for me outside. The same lady was there. She looked occupied with papers on her desk.

"You owe me a look from last time," I said. She looked up to notice me.

"Why bother? It seems you found the room okay."

"No thanks to you." She shuffled the papers together and stuffed them in a file.

"How could you see me?"

"You think you're the only the one that's _different?" _She snapped.

"You mean you have the gift to see the dead?"

" I don't see the dead and it no gift. I'm not going to discuss this personal matter with you or anyone else that is curious to know. Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do and it looks like your party is waiting for you outside." I had just about enough of her rude personality and I wanted to know what she was holding from me. I multiplied myself so that she was surrounded by clones of me. She laughed.

"Am I suppose to be threaten by this." Her face turn ugly and her lips curled into a wicked smile.

" My dear, you are such an amateur," she spoke, giving _such _a eerie vibe. She passed through her desk and grabbed hold of my chair, trapping me between her arms. I felt something tighten around my throat, but her hands were gripping the sides of my wheelchair.

"You cause a lot of trouble, child…"

"Don't call me a child-"

The grasp constricted harder around my throat until I was gasping for air in short breathes.

"It should have finished you off."

I felt the bones in my neck were going to snap from the pressure on them. I couldn't move my arms either. Something was holding them down as well.

"What—have I—done?" I managed to ask in a raspy whisper.

"You should have stuck with stealing clothes for the poor."

"Z!" Her icy stare turned from me. Bridge was running towards us. For a second, she panicked. Her concentration was thrown. I could move my arms. I grabbed her by her white coat. She seized both my arms and threw me against the desk. Then she took off. Jack and Bridge were after her.

"Freeze, SPD!" Sky and Syd helped me up.

"Sky, they might need back up. I'll stay with her. He took his blaster from his belt and went in their direction.

"Oh, she bruised your neck. It looks swollen," Syd described with a grossed out look on her face.

" Somehow. She never touched me," I explain, my voice stronger.

The nurse got away. The boys had her trapped at the end of a hallway and she vanished. So much for a welcoming return. Commander Cruger sent for us to return to SPD headquarters immediately to report the attack. That meant me explaining the whole out of body experience to Commander Cruger.

"So let me get this straight your ghost needed help finding your body in the hospital and by instinct you checked at the desk and noticed that she could see your ghost," Commander Cruger summarizing my story.

"Then, when I went up to her today to ask her about the whole weirdness, she pasts through the desk and attempts to choke me to dead without using her hands."

Cruger turned to Kat.

"Kat, any information."

"Nothing, but I've started pulling files from the hospital where she was supposedly working."

"Would she have any connections with Grumm?" Jack asked, standing next to me.

"It's possible," Commander Cruger replied.

" It would be wise to be on your guard at all time. We don't know what she is capable of doing at this moment. Cadets dismissed."

We saluted and he left the room. I got up and staggered out. My legs were still weak to walk on and my ribs were still sore.

"How about us girls go to the café and get a couple of warm decaf cappacinos with extra chocolate foam and whip cream," suggested a perky Syd.

"Maybe some other time. Right now, I feeling a little tired and my bed is looking good right about now."

"Is that offer tranferrable?" Bridge asked. Syd gave him an annoyed look and walked ahead. I went to the room and collapsed onto my bed. It felt good to be back in my own bed. I didn't even bother to get under the sheets. I fell asleep the minute I rested my head on my fluffed up pillows.

Hours later someone was knocking at the door. I sleepishly turned over in my bed to see if Syd was in the room. Nope.

"Come in," I called. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and sat up. It was Bridge. I quickly brushed down my hair to make sure I didn't look like some waking zombie. "The guys are waiting in the lounge whenever you guys are ready to join us for breakfast."

I scratched my head.

"Breakfast. Wait. What time is it?" I reached over for my alarm clock.

"It's six-fifteen," said Bridge, checking his watch. I double checked to see if he was right. "I must have been sleepier than I thought," I muttered to myself. Syd came out of the bathroom curling her hair with her pink curling iron.

"Syd, were you planning on waking me sometime today?" "I forgot you were back, roomie," she said in a perky tone. I gave her a shocked look.

"I'm only kidding.- I thought you could use the extra z's, Z." She laughed. "Get it. Z's for Z." I was hardly laughing. She stopped and when back in the bathroom to put her curling iron away.

"If you want, we could wait up for you." She came out of the bathroom flipping some strands of curls loose.

"Forget it, I'm not hungry."

"I'll get Boom to bring you something. I'm not sure if it will all get to you, but he'll have something." I forced a laugh. She left. Bridge waved goodbye just as the door closed. I got up, stretched, and headed for the bathroom. I needed a hot shower and my hair could use a brush through. Maybe if I hurried, I could still join the others for breakfast. It took fifteen to get ready. Another ten to make my bed. Why is it when you are in a hurry, it seems that time is never your best friend.

"Where are my shoes?" I searched under the bed and in my closet and through my duffel bag. I had on my gray SPD sweats with yellow strips going down the sides and I needed my white jogging sneakers. I didn't notice that Boom came in and I accidentally bumped into him knocking the tray he brought for me out of his hands.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I didn't see you come in." I helped him pick up some syrupy waffles from off the floor.

"I guess I should have knocked before coming in." I picked up some of the napkins off the floor and wiped at the spilled orange juice on his grey jacket. I bend down to pick up the tray.

"No, let me get that," he insisted. "I don't want to hold you up."

"Maybe, she put them in the dirty hamper," I said thinking out loud. I pulled out the dirty laundry from the hamper to find that my jogging shoes were buried at the bottom. I sat on the bed and quickly slipped on my shoes.

"Boom could you do me a huge favor and pick that up for me. Thanks." I ran out the door before he had time to comply. I checked the dinning area. Other SPD cadets were in there, but not the others. I went up to one of the cadets, sitting off to himself.

"Have you seen B-squad come in here?"

"They were in here not to long ago," he said munching on some cereal.

"Thanks." I passed by the control room and stepped in. Kat was active on her laptop.

"Morning." She looked up from her work. "I would ask how are you but its obviously showing on your face." I walked around the desk she had the laptop sitting on to get a better look.

"Any info on the nurse ?"

"I've got nothing from the hospital's computers. She must have not been registered. According to these records she doesn't exist."

"What do you have on Solaris?" She searched through the confinement files until she stopped at Omni-Solaur.

"Is that him?" I pointed at the screen.

"Yes. Records show he was charged for causing an ice age on Sector 12, Antion, and Bayer X-7 and almost another one here on Earth."

"What are those yellow diamonds," I pointed out on the computer.

"Those aren't diamonds. They're crystals. Apparently, Solaris used them as his source of power. They allowed him to collect sunlight which he needS to stay alive and also endure heat."

"Okay, I'm confused. You're telling me he uses solar energy in order to live, but the same thing that keeps him alive could kill him."

"He uses magma crystals. They're very rare, but extremely powerful. They allowed him to absorb solar energy in order to stay alive; also absorb as much sunlight as he desires without it harmfully effecting him."

"So if these crystals were to be destroyed somehow, what would have been another source of energy?"

"It would have taken a great deal of energy in order for him to survive and he would have had to have found a source of energy without any direct sunlight around."

"Men, women, and children," I breathed.

"Did you say something Z?"

I think I need to lie down. I felt the room was spinning. I caught myself on one of the mainframe panels.

"Z!" Kat sprung out of her seat to help me from falling on the floor.

"Kat, I know why Solaris came after me." She looked at me with worry. Why wouldn't she. I was shaking in her hold.

"I-"

The alarm went off. She ran over to the mainframe computer. "Rangers there is a monster in sector 4." She turned around.

"Z, I think you ought to leave it up to the others to take care of." I ran out.

"Z!" She called after me. I could hear screaming. I stopped to find out where it was coming from. No one in the hallways seemed to be reacting to the screams. They acted as though they didn't hear anything. A little girl started crying. "Get away! Help, mommy!" She sounded out of breath like she was running. More screaming. The whole thing was in my head.

"No," she begged in defeat.

I felt someone grab my arm. I screamed. I turned around swinging my fist. Cruger grabbed it in mid-swing.

"Miss Delgado. You are confined at headquarters until you have fully recovered. You are restrained from ranger activity until further notice."

I tore away from his grip and ran off.

"Miss Delgado, that's an order." I ran, knocking others out of my way. I ran down to the garage where they kept all SPD vehicles. Syd had taken the jeep and the boys were using their motorcycles. The only one not in use was the Shadow ranger's cruiser. "Sorry, Sir, but I have to borrow this.- SPD, emergency." I morphed into the yellow ranger and got on.

"Miss Delgado, you are not authorized to leave SPD headquarters," ordered Commander Cruger over the morpher. I turned it off. I was going to get in trouble for doing that later. Right now, I had to find her. Suddenly, the vehicle slammed into something and flipped over tossing me off the seat. I tucked myself into a ball and tumbled onto my feet.

"What was that?" I looked around. Nothing was in the way of the vehicle to make it flip over the way it did. She must be around her somewhere.

" I know you're here, so show yourself."

"Are you sure?" She cackled. "The last time, you weren't so tough."

"I just want to talk to you." A series of sonic blasts came at me. I flipped out of the way. "Solaris killed someone that was close to you. Didn't he?" The light breeze began to pick up force around me.

"Was it a little girl?" I continued. The wind became violently strong, picking me up and swirling me around in a tornado.

"Miss Delgado," she hissed inside my head. "That little girl _was_ my daughter." The wind constricted harder around my body at the emphasize of _was_.

"_You_ are the cause of everything. _He _should have destroyed you." I grabbed for my blaster.

Forget the nausea I was feeling, I had to blast myself out of this. Concentrate on where her voice is coming from, I told myself. Her voice was wailing. It didn't sound to far off. I opened my eyes for a second and caught a glance of her through the coiling cycle. I fired. The tornado vanished and I dropped to the ground. I still felt nauseate. Everything was still spinning. I turned around to see where she was. She was trying to pick herself off the ground as well. I crawled onto my knees and slowly picked myself off the ground. I demorphed to show her that I didn't want to harm her.

"You don't have to be this way. Your daughter would not want to see you become the very thing that killed her." She was clenching her right side. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were wet from tears. She collapsed to her knees. I walked over to her. "Forgive me," she begged. "You were only trying to stop him from harming others."

I knelt down and soothed her back to comfort her. She pushed me away.

"No, please. I do not deserve anything." She looked at me. Her eyes were golden yellow with purple pupils. Then, they swiftly changed to a cloudly gray.

"For I am already _that_ monster." Then she shriveled into nothing. I had no time to grasp what she meant by it, something was still wrong. I got up and held my blaster ready to fire.

Something was watching me. More than one. Something flashed in front of me too quick for me to tell if I saw it or if my eyes were playing tricks. I turned the communicator back on.

"Kat, I need backup. I'm 10 miles, east south of headquarters-"

A small blast burnt my hand, making me drop the morpher. Another beam hit me in the shoulder. I turned around and fired in the direction the second shot came from. When my back was turned another shot hit my ankle. I grabbed for my morpher to remorph. The creature came out of nowhere and knocked it out of my hands, twisting my arm back behind me. It sharp claws were pinching into the skin of my arm. I threw a punch at it, hitting it in the arm. The shock from its hit sent a sharp pain up my arm. "What is this thing made of? It threw me to the ground. I did a low kick hoping to knock him to the ground, but he jumped in a flash. I turned around to fire at him while he was airborne. It didn't touch him. He must have had some kind of invisible shield. He landed light on his hooked claws then disappeared, appearing again only inches from me. I fired again. The blast bounced off his shield, increasing in size as it rickshawed back towards me. I tumbled out of the way. I quickly got to my feet, ignoring the pain from my ankle. My ribs were so sore that it hurt ever time I took a breath.

Two blast came from behind me. The creature emitted a painful shrill cry that hurt my ears. I turned around to see who fired. My team was approaching. It faded away to a minimal breeze. The others that were nearby did the same. Jack got off his motorcycle.

"We got a call from Kat telling us you were in trouble." I searched for my morpher, finding it crushed on the ground where the creature had landed on his feet.

"I was in trouble," I said, angrily. "I'm always going to be in trouble. And don't you ask me if I'm alright. Because I'm not!"

I was trying so hard not to cry in front of Jack. I didn't want anyone seeing me like this. The sound of thunder echoed the sky.

"We better head back to base.- You can ride back with me."

Luckily, it didn't rain on me on the ride back or I might as well have lost all composure. My meeting with Commander Cruger was postponed until my fresh wounds were bandaged and my old wounds were re-bandaged in the medical quarters. I didn't try to defend my actions when Commander Cruger asked me to explain why I disobeyed his orders. I apologized for my rash actions and lack of reason and braced myself for any punishment he was about to enforce. He let out a deep sight. He let me off with a warning. I retreated to my room to listen to some music on my cd player and read a stack of magazines Syd gave me, since it looked that I would be off my feet for awhile.

My stomach started growling right around dinner. I hadn't eaten anything all day. I took my headphones off and slipped the magazine I was currently reading underneath the space of my bed. I wonder if anyone remembered that I was in here. I sat up slowly to avoid pain in my shoulder and turned my legs off the side of the bed. I duplicated myself to help me stand up. My bad ankle throbbed under the weight and I had to sit down. "Okay, that's out of the question." Someone tapped on the door. "Come in."

The door slid open and Sky came in with a tray holding an aluminum lid covered plate, a slice of chocolate cake in a plastic container, and a glass of milk and another glass with juice. He looked surprised that there was two of me in the room. He set the tray in front of me on the bed. The second copy vanished. I removed the lid. Meatloaf, steamed vegetables, and _yellow_ rice. I raised my hand to my chest and gushed, "For me, you shouldn't have."

"That's the special for today."

"I was being sarcastic. Something you obviously can't relate to." I noted he was wearing his training attire: a blue shirt, black sweats, and black boots. "Aren't we all dressed up for dinner."

"More sarcasm, right?" "You catch on fast."

"If you need to know, I'm going to the gym."

"To work up an appetite or have you already eaten?" I asked, popping open the lid to the chocolate cake.

" I'm not hungry at the moment."

I tore off the top of the plastic wrapping and shook out the fork.

"The cafeteria stays open for no one.- You'll be hungry later." He started to leave. I quickly cut a piece of the cake and placed it on a napkin.

" Wait!" He turned around.

" At least try the cake." He stood there and looked at me with his arms crossed. "Is there something in the SPD handbook that says we can't eat cake," I said, holding the cake out for him. He raised his eyebrow.

"Please," I begged with a coaxing smile. He came over to the bed and took the piece from me.

"You never heard that dessert comes after dinner?" I laughed. "Who hasn't." He ate it down in one bite.

"Got milk?" I asked, holding out my glass. He didn't decline the offer. He gulped down the milk and handed me the empty glass. "That tasted terrible," he said, squinting his face in disgust. "Liar," I countered, taking a bite to see for myself. The morsel melted in my mouth. "Sarcasm." I said, amused. He got me at my own game.


	3. Chapter 3

X and O! Press X and O! I screamed. "Slide between his legs. Dodge his move. Do something!" I buried my head in my hands and grunted loudly out of frustration.

"Z, whose side are you on?" Sky asked, too absorbed in the game to turn away from it. "At this point, I don't care. You both stink at this game."

Jack quickly turned around with a smirk on his face.

"If we need advise on accessorizing our G.I. Joes for prom night with Barbie will ask you."

Sky and Jack started laughing. Bridge sitting near by was chuckling, his face hidden behind a comic book he was supposedly reading. I grabbed the control from Sky. Sky's man received an open kick in the stomach that sent his character to the ground. I rolled up onto my feet. Jack's character came at mine with a high kick. I ducked, rolled forward, and stood ready in a fighting stance.

"Piece of advise, get use to tasting dirt," I cautioned. His man started running at me. I flipped backward (O and left arrow), crouched with the down arrow, and did a low combo kick that side swiped him off his feet. Next, I did a quick, swift forward kick (up arrow + X+ down arrow) nailing him in the leg. He tried to pick his man up, but I would knee him down to the arena floor.

"You are making this too easy," I laughed. He finally rolled backwards out of my reach and got up. He used a cannon blast to knock me to the floor. I got up. He used that tired move on me again. I spun out of the way.

"Try it once, shame on me; try it twice, shame on you."

He fired again. I blocked with an energy shield. He launched at me with a corkscrew kick. I slid under him (X and O) dodging the attack. I didn't waste any time with my next move. His energy level was low. I pressed down on the R button and the up arrow, then rapidly hit the triangle button that sent me twirling in the air.

I finished it off with a rapidly pressed X that kicked him like he had been struck by a lighting bolt. KO appeared on the screen. I looked at him with a satisfyingly, sweet, glorious smile. Jack dropped his head in shame.

"Alright, alright. You're good."

"Not just good, but the greatest," I exclaimed.

"Yeah, for a girl," Sky added.

I punched him in the shoulder.

Commander Cruger came in. We all stood at attention. A pinprick of pain ran up my leg as I stood quickly on my bad ankle. I ignored it.

"At ease, cadets."

I sat back down. He walked over to me and stood over me.

"I've decided to give this back to you," he said, holding out my fixed morpher. "Providing that you reframe from power ranger activity until the physician feels that you are capable of going out with the squad."

I nodded my head in agreement.

"Yes, sir."

The feel of it in my hands, overwhelmed me. I would soon be fighting Grumm forces as the yellow ranger again. My injuries were no excuse for me. I had healed enough to do the physical assimilations that required quick reflexes and physical endurance but only at a restricted level. My shooting had improved in target practice. I mostly spend my time there. When I wasn't there, I was helping Kat key data in S.P.D's mainframe. I tried to avoid my bedroom at all times.

The next day I got up early. Syd was still sleeping cozy in her bed. It was a quarter till six. I moved across the floor on tip-toes getting dress in my sweat suit. The door gave a swish sound but Syd didn't shift in her bed.

Outside, the sky was still dark. The air was damp and cool. I did a couple of stretch exercises to warm up and set off on the track. It was a relaxing routine. It gave me time to think. Clear my mind. I often thought of Omni-Solaur and the nurse's daughter. Sometimes I have had nightmares about that terrible scene; waking up in the middle of the night with shivering chills. I have been waking up like that so frequently that I haven't been able to get enough sleep. I try to evade sleep when I can, but it only postpones the enviable nightmare. Then there are the nurse's last words "For I am already monster" that haunt me. Were those creatures conjured by her to kill me or were they just the tip of the iceberg? I shivered just thinking about it. I was through with thinking. I began to pick up my pace. My bad ankle protested with a minor sting.

I launched into a fast run. The rapid change of my foot slamming onto the track sent small shocks of pain up my leg. Soon, I couldn't feel anything but the track. The point of tiredness was over. I didn't have to enforce my legs to give me another lap around the track. It wouldn't last long, everything would come back 2x as worst when I stopped, but for now I felt nothing.

I toweled off and headed for the café. I wasn't hungry after my run; just thirsty. I got a glass of orange juice and sat down at the counter. A moment later, Jack comes in. He got himself a glass of orange juice and sat in the chair beside me.

"Another early run?" He asks, nonchalantly.

I nod. "Yep."

"Since when did you become a morning person?"

"What's with the interrogation, Jack?" I asked, defensively. "I have my reasons."

I got up out of my seat and placed the empty glass on the conveyor belt in the wall. I went to the lab. Kat was busy with a collection of gadgets. She barely noticed me as I took a seat at another desk in the room that I claimed as my workstation. A huge stack of folders lay on my table. Boom came in and waved. Kat looked over wondering who he was waving at.

"I didn't hear you come in."

"I didn't want to interrupt your work."

RIC trailed in behind Boom with a blue ball in his mouth.

"Sorry boy, I've got work to do," Boom said.

RIC barked. He crawled over to me and dropped the ball in my lap.

"I'm busy too."

He cried. I threw the ball and he ran off to get it. I opened up the first folder on the stack before I felt the ball in my lap again.

"He makes an excellent point."

I look up at Kat, now standing in front of my desk.

"What do you mean?"

"You have been cooped up in the academy for weeks now. Don't you want to go out anymore?"

"I've been out," I explain.

"Really?"

"Just let me finish this stack-" She leans forward and takes the folders off my desk.

"I'll take care of these."

"Are you sure you don't need any assistance with anything?"

She starts to push me out of the lab with the folders tucked under her arm.

"Boom, what about you? I could help you test some of the equipment."

The door closed behind me. I caught Commander Cruger walking out of the commander center, talking with another cadet. I walked over to him.

"Commander!" I called.

"Miss Delgado," he answers.

"Commander, I was wondering if I could be of any assistance to you, today."

"Miss Delgado, B-squad is off for today-"

"I'm fully aware of that, Sir, but I have fully committed my day to helping out around the base."

"I see. Miss Delgado, I appreciate your enthusiasm to assist around here, but I feel it necessary to spend time with your team members."

RIC came up from behind and nuzzled me.

"I order you to enjoy your day." He continued to walk down the hall, but stopped half way and turned around.

"If you should leave the base, take someone with you. It's a dangerous time for one _ranger_ to be on their own."

I saluted and went down to the garage with RIC accompanying me. The group was waiting for me when I arrived. Jack was in the driver's seat, Sky seating shotgun next to him, with Bridge and Syd sitting in the back.

"Did you think we were going to leave without you?" Syd asked.

RIC jumped in and I got in after him. Bridge, as usual, dominated the conversation with his bizarre questions.

"How can we be sure if we are moving at all? Sure the wheels are moving and we all feel like we're moving, but how can we be sure that the ground is not moving beneath us?" "Bridge, you could ask me that a thousand times or ask me one just like it and I could never understand what you're trying to say," I replied.

"Then, how about this: Is the world around us just an illusion or are we the illusions in this world."

"Stop, Bridge!" Syd yelled. "You have maxed out your odd questions per day."

A great deal of people were at the park. A birthday party was being held in the gazebo. A few were walking their dogs. Some were there to take a stroll.

Once I got out, I threw the ball as far as I could. RIC leaped out of the jeep to go after it. RIC caught it in midair and hurried back so I could throw it again. Some of the kids from the birthday party came over.

"Is that a dog?" One girl asked.

"Yeah," Jack answered. "His names RIC."

RIC barked in response to his name.

"Can we play with him," a little boy eagerly ask.

"Please?" The kids begged.

Jack picked up the ball.

"Fetch RIC!"

He threw it high in the air. I squinted my eyes against the sun to see where it would fall. RIC ran off in its direction, followed by the kids.

"They are so cute," said Syd, as they ran off.

We spread out under the shade of trees and began to throw the Frisbee. I would glance over at RIC playing with the children. I could spot the birthday girl in her pink tiara. The kids' laughter echoed throughout the park. I caught the Frisbee and threw it to Jack. I looked back over at the children playing. The girl wearing the pink tiara was gone. I looked over at the gazebo to see if she was there. One of the women that were watching the kids was scoping the park too. She noticed it too.

The Frisbee whacked me in the head.

"Ouch!" I shouted, rubbing my head.

"Sorry!" Jack apologized.

"Are you okay?" Sky asked, trying to inspect the damage.

"Something's wrong." I confirmed softly.

"Is it bleeding?" Sky checked again.

"No, something's happened over there," I said, pointing.

"Haley!" The women screamed.

The children were still playing with RIC as if no one had gone missing. I ran over, followed by the others. The kids suddenly stopped what they were doing as we approached.

"Haley!"

I braced her.

"What happen?" I asked.

She was shaken.

"She was playing with the children," she cried. "Right there," she pointed with a trembling finger.

Another woman embraced her and encouraged her that her daughter would be found. To us, she gave a detailed description of Haley: blue eyes, brunette hair, 2'3', wearing dark denim overalls over a red shirt and a pink tiara. Hearing the women describe her daughter made her weep even more.

"Don't worry, we will find your daughter," promised Jack.

"Please…" She violently shuttered.

Jack ordered us to divided into pairs and search the park. Bridge and Syd took one area of the park, Sky and me took another, while Jack searched alone. RIC was ordered to stay behind and be on guard. I could understand Haley's mother myself. I only turned a second and she disappeared.

"Haley!" I called. More than anyone, I wanted to find her.

Sky called Bridge on the communicator to see if he detected any trace of her. Bridge could not pick up her trail or any negative force that could have been behind her disappearance.

"Sky, what if we don't find her." Sky turned around to face me. He noted the serious look on my face. There was nothing he could say. He let the question drop into silence and continued to call the girl's name. Sky's communicator went off. My heart jumped in my chest, hoping it was Jack with good news on Haley.

It wasn't. Commander Cruger reported that a giant robot was sighted in the city. Sky reported that we were searching for the little girl in the park. Jack's voice came in on the communicator.

"Sam and I will deal with it. The others can continue the search."

I absently felt for my morpher that was clipped to my pants. I had brought it along as a last minute resort. I snatched the communicator away from Sky.

"Jack, you can't operate the megazord without the others. Call Karen. The others will be there shortly." I handed it back and continued in the direction we were headed.

Sky grabbed hold of my wrist and pulled me around to face him. "

Z, you can't search for her by yourself."

"Sky, its okay. I have RIC with me. If I need backup, I'll call."

"Just promise me you won't try to handle any situation that may come up without us." "My word as a ranger," I promised.

He pulled out his morpher.

"S.P.D emergency!"

He morphed into the blue ranger.

"But don't expect me to stand around and do anything when or if that situation occurs." He nodded and ran off.

I checked back with the party quest. I recommended that the safest thing to do at that point was to leave the park. Haley's mother became more upset.

"But you promised to find her."

"And I will, but we have to think of the other kids' safety."

"Call their parents and have them pick up their children," I directed to the woman, who seem to be second in command at the party.

"Oh no!" She panicked. "Something has happen to her. Something-" She fainted.

The woman caught her and fanned her with a stack of napkins that were sitting on the table. I took out my communicator and called Kat.

"Kat, I need a search party here at the park to find a missing girl."

I gave Kat her description and what she was wearing. Kat replied that she would send D squad right away. Kat said something else but I couldn't make out what it was because of the static noises.

"Kat!"

The connection was breaking up. The clouds approaching began to darken as though night was approaching early. Everyone seemed to look up at the sky as the darkness spread slowly over the entire park. Then a loud crackling noise broke the silence and the kids screamed. The sound made me jumpy as well.

The wind picked up into a gust.

"Everyone move!" I yelled, trying to be heard over the wind.

"Come on, kids follow me," the woman ordered.

We all started to run. I duplicated so I could help the woman support an unconscious mother and keep the children together. For myself, I had stay behind to find Haley. RIC caught on to my duplicates and followed me away from the fleeting party guests.

"No, go back! Make sure they make it out of the storm." He cocked his head like he wasn't sure he should leave me unaccompanied.

"Leave, now!" I ran, calling the girl's name even louder than before. Tree branches were violently snapped off by the torrent. The trees, themselves, were bending in the winds path. Then the rain started in a heavy downpour. It was getting hard to see with the outsized raindrops blinding my vision. I pulled out my morpher.

"S.P.D, emergency." I transformed into the yellow ranger.

"Haley!"

Something dug into my heel. I looked down and saw something pink poke out of the grass. I picked it up. It was the pink tiara Haley was wearing at the party. Grass blades were entwined between the small cracks of the pink cubic zircona, mud was caked on the entire left side, and the spikes of the tiara were hanging loosely from the headband. I tried to contact the others with my communicator. No one responded. Bridge would have came in handy right now. The park was but so big. We basically searched every area of the park.

Behind the sheets of rain fall, I caught hold of something moving.

"Haley?"

I cautiously walked forward. I could make out the deep blue of the object. It was running. I could now make out the bright red under the blue. Her face was pale in the rain. I darted towards her. A bright bolt of lightning struck a tree, bringing it down beside me. The thunder rumbled so viciously, it shook the ground. A series of lightning was pursuing her, striking the ground only inches from her feet. The ground swelled as if a giant was burrowing from beneath it. A large bolt of lightning flared in front of her, making her fall to the ground.

I ran harder as if a bolt of lighting transferred its electric energy to my very legs. The trees crashed to the ground. I plummet over her and tumbled an estimated second before the ground trembled from the crash. The girl was shivering against me as I cradled her in my arms. When she looked to see who saved her, her eyes were an eerie icy blue. I almost wanted to push away from her. I picked her up and ran. The lightning began to travel, ripping at the ground it struck. Another one appeared. They started to entangle, forming a cycle that was enclosing us in a trap. I held tight to her.

I felt hot. It felt scolding hot. My muscles were throbbing so hard, my whole body ached. I let out a high pitching scream. My heart was pulsing so fast in my chest, I was starting to fill faint. My vision was a smeared white area. Only me and her in this empty space. Then everything went blank.

I abruptly awoke gashing for air. My heart was pounding heavily in my chest. The rain was drowning me. I grabbed a huge chunk of grass and pulled myself to the side and vomited.

My head knocked against something rough and rigid. I heard sirens in the distance. Where was I? I turned over. Moving around made me more nauseated. My visions was twisted and contoured. Something brown was near my head. Something grey above my head. The colors were fading. I could recognize the familiar shades of what I was drifting into.

No! I just escaped that place! Where was I now?

"Z." Voices called from within the mass of grey.

"Z!"

"Z.Z.Z…Z.Z..Z.Z… I pushed myself on the brown object in front of me. _Tree._

"Tree. Tree…Tree..Tree. Tree." The object I was leaning on was a tree.

My fingers painful curled around something on the ground. I picked it up. It was black and white with S.P.D in block letters on the front.

"S.P.D. S..P.P..D."

The block was making a high pitch noise that wouldn't stop. My ears became irritated by the sound. I smashed it against the tree. The noise stopped.

"Z," The object called. What was this funny device?

"Z, can you hear me?"

"S.P…P..D.D," I responded sluggishly.

"Where are you?"

I looked around. Nothing was familiar. I looked up at the gray, where the rain was coming from.

"Sky.-Sk-y. Skk-y."

"Is Sky with you?"

The voice sounded familiar. Maybe if I described what was around me, she could find me.

"Yes. I can see the sky. I'm near a fallen tree- somewhere."

I looked at the grass underneath. A girl was lying down beside me. I gasped loudly.

"Z, what is it!" The feminine voice yelled.

I climbed off the support of the tree and painfully crawled over to her. I turned her onto her back. Her eyes were closed.

Something told me to check and see if she was breathing. I tilted my head and rested it on her chest. Her breathing was slow which was a good sign, but she needed help immediately before her condition got worst. I stretched my arm out to retrieve the object. "It's a gi-rl-girl, sh-she needs help."

"Z!" The voices called again. They were somewhere nearby.

Z. That must be my name. I looked back towards the girl.

"Or hers."

Someone is trying to find her.

"Help!" I screamed, my voice husky.

I slithered back over to the fallen tree, determined to get these persons' attention.

" Help! This girl… this girl..girl…"

Something was making its way towards me. What if they wanted to harm the girl?

I looked around for something to fight it with. I grabbed at the blocked object. Blunt edges, but it was heavy in my hand. I held it up ready to throw it despite my arm aching to be put down.

"Don't come any closer if you mean to do us harm. Who are you? Friend or foe?" I demanded.

They probably wouldn't say. They'd come at me and kill both of us. I didn't wait for those odds. I threw it just as I was able to make out the blue uniform. I flinched back. The creature was all blue except for the black 2 down its chest and a black streak across his face where the eyes should be. I had nothing else to fend it off with. It had a weapon hooked to the belt it wore. If I even relaxed from my frighten stiffness, its weapon would annihilate me in a second it would take me to breath.

"Please, don't hurt her," I cried.

It slowly climbed over the tree that lay between us. I quickly moved in front of the girl. "No, don't!"

The creature vanished or rather his disguise.

Standing in front of me was a guy who looked to be around my own age. How old was I anyway? He was wearing a gray-black uniform with a patch of blue on the right shoulder. In small silver letters were the initials: S.P.D. The guy was more strangely familiar than those initials. I looked up at the sky. Rain pouring on my face.

"Sk-y. S-ky. Sky. Sky. Sky." His name is Sky. He crouched down to look at me. His eyes. Even through the rain, his eyes held the same shade of sapphire blue.

"I can't re-remem-ber, rem-mem-member, remember." After that everything went black.

To Be Continued…


End file.
